During a parking operation of a vehicle, especially an automatic parking operation, in which the driver determines the parking operation and the vehicle assumes the longitudinal and transverse control into the parking space, it is above all desirable that parking spaces whose length is difficult to estimate by the vehicle driver are able to be used for a parking operation. However, the parking system of the vehicle also determines the length of the parking space. This is the reason why a relatively large distance from an obstacle is selected during the measurement and subsequent parking operation, which makes it difficult if not impossible for the current systems to park in narrow parking spaces or to pull up close to an object while parking.
A control of the approach of an obstacle when driving in reverse is described, for example, in German Published Patent Application No. 196 07 788, in which the speed of the vehicle is held below a specified limit value in a first distance range from the obstacle, by influencing the engine output of the vehicle, and in a second distance range, the driving speed is restricted to a second limit value by generating a braking force in the wheel brakes.